Child reads books given through My Home Library. Photo credit: Michelle Watson, CatchLight Group

This month, thanks to the generosity of Phillips 66, Marathon Oil, the University of Houston College of Education, the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee and donors like you, more than 1,800 area elementary schoolchildren will receive their very own home library just in time for summer break through our My Home Library Initiative.

Why is My Home Library so important? It is because children of economically disadvantaged families and English Language Learners enter school facing an uphill battle as compared to their more affluent peers. While teachers and principals work tirelessly to narrow the achievement gap during the school year, children who lack access to books (or meaningful learning skill levels) fall behind when the doors of the schoolhouse close for the summer. According to researchers, this "summer learning slide" compounds from year after year and is the primary cause of widening achievement gaps between students of lower and higher socio-economic levels. Specifically, by the end of the ninth grade, studies have shown that students have fallen two or more years behind their middle-class peer groups in reading and verbal abilities due solely to the "summer slide."

With more than 80 percent of public school children in Houston being economically disadvantaged and nearly one-third English Language Learners, the summer slide can have a far-reaching impact. It's not too late for you to get involved. Make a meaningful impact on a child this summer by providing a home library.

Last month the Houston Rockets Women's Organization teamed up with Reliant and the Ladies for Literacy Guild of the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation to host a community book drive at a home game during the NBA Playoffs. Not only did the Houston Rockets win the game on April 19, but also many local literacy organizations across the community won big. Thanks to the generosity of fans and Reliant employees, nearly 7,000 books were collected. Our partner literacy organizations, including Amaanah Refugee Services, Books Between Kids, Children's Museum of Houston, Community Family Centers, Houston Area Urban League, Houston Center for Literacy, Houston Public Library Foundation, House of Charity, HYPE Freedom School, Kids' Reading Room, Literacy Advance of Houston, Making It Better, Memorial Hermann, and Small Steps Learning Center,  all received the books to support their programs and place them in the hands of children and adults across Houston.

We are pleased to announce that Catherine Tamis-LaMonde, Ph.D., Professor of Applied Psychology at New York University, will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2017 Power of Literacy Luncheon. Dr. Tamis-LaMonde's research at NYU's Center for Research on Culture, Development, and Education focuses on infant and toddler learning and development in the areas of language and communication, object play, cognition, motor skills, gender identity, emotion regulation, and social understanding, as well as the long-term implications of early emerging skills for children's developmental trajectories. A core emphasis of this research is on the quality of mothers' and fathers' interactions with children and the influence of those interactions on the cognitive and social development of children.

The Power of Literacy Luncheon is the signature event hosted by the Foundation's Ladies for Literacy Guild. This year's luncheon is chaired by Ginger Blanton and is slated for Tuesday, October 24, at the River Oaks Country Club. Phillips 66 will once again serve as the title sponsor.